Every player who comes through Lezama dreams of making it to the first team and competing at the San Mamés. For a select few that dream eventually becomes a reality, but the truth is that not everyone can make it so far. As is the case with every academy, talented young players leave Athletic every year in order to continue

The season is now starting to draw to a close and many clubs across Spain still have a lot to fight for. As we speak, Athletic Club are still in contention for seventh place in the La Liga table, although reaching that goal will be extremely difficult. Meanwhile, there are a few Lions who are out on loan that are

Athletic fans were absolutely shocked when it was announced that the club had signed Ander Capa on the last day of the transfer window. Sure, the Eibar man will not join the team until next summer, but he is still the first transfer signing in two years. Capa has been one of the best and most consistent right-backs in La

Just a few years ago there was major concern regarding Athletic Club’s ability to replace legend Andoni Iraola at the right-back position. Players like Unai Bustinza spent time trying to make the role theirs while the Lions also brought back Eneko Bóveda to compete for the position. In the end, it was Oscar De Marcos who earned a new place

Markel Etxeberria is a name that most Athletic fans are well aware of. The young right-back trained with the first team way back under Marcelo Bielsa and was an integral part of Cuco Ziganda’s Bilbao Athletic team that won promotion to the Primera. However, the 22-year-old has not been able to carve out a path to the senior squad and

The most important thing at Athletic Club is youth development. It is this pillar that everything is build on and success is found. That being said, it is sometimes vitally important for players to leave the club in order to continue growing as developing as a professional footballer. This is usually the case for a handful of players every summer.

Gorka Santamaria has found it quite difficult to reach the Athletic first team. After joining Lezama at the age of ten, the striker rose through the young ranks and eventually dazzled for CD Basconia scoring 20 goals. However, he has yet to make the jump from Bilbao Athletic and was sent to the Segunda last year where he joined Cadiz

Despite being just 22 years old, Urtzi Iriondo has seen a lot of footballer. After being promoted to Bilbao Athletic back in 2014 he helped the team earn promotion to the Segunda, where they spent one season before dropping back down. Last season, he spent the campaign on loan at Elche where he began the season without playing many minutes

Markel Etxeberria is one of the most well known names to come through Lezama in recent memory. The right-back made a name for himself at the youth level before going on to train on several occasions under Marcelo Bielsa. Since then, he has found it difficult to break into the first team due to the competition in the squad. Last